Head protection system

ABSTRACT

An apparatus to prohibit user injury from sudden impact or rotational or whiplash movement. The apparatus includes a helmet, a body harness configured to secure to the user, a plurality of tethers and a plurality of spools. Each tether has one end attached to the helmet and an opposing end fixed relative to the body harness. Each spool is positioned with a tether in wound engagement with the spool. Each spool includes a locking mechanism moveable between an unlocked condition and a locked condition. Upon pre-determined movement of at least one of the tethers, the corresponding locking mechanism moves from the unlocked condition to the locked condition to prohibit additional movement of the tether.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/332,432, entitled HEAD PROTECTION SYSTEM TO MINIMIZE ROTATIONAL OR WHIPLASH INJURY and filed May 7, 2010, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, to the extent that it is not conflicting with the present application.

BACKGROUND

Recreation is one of the most commonly pursued activities. Some recreational activities require the participant to move at a heightened speed, such as for example, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, and jet skis. Certain recreational activities, such as athletics, require the user to run at a top personal speed. Unfortunately, head, neck, and spinal cord injuries can occur when a participate collides with another participant or an object.

To reduce the risk of injury, athletes, vehicle occupants, and others subject to sudden impact, acceleration or deceleration, commonly wear a helmet for protection from head injury. Body harnesses, such as shoulder pads or other devices, are also sometimes worn for protection. Although these devices do an adequate job of protecting the head or body from direct impact and crushing or penetrating injuries, the head is free to move and rotate rapidly with respect to the body. Unconstrained movement of the head may result in so-called whiplash or rotational brain injury, a major cause of serious brain damage. Although helmets have been extensively developed to protect the head from crushing and penetrating injuries, helmets do not protect against the very serious rotational or whiplash injuries in which the impact causes the head to rotate rapidly with respect to the body around the neck. Although the head may not appear to be damaged in such an impact situation, the rapid rotation or whiplash motion can cause the brain to move within the cranium and be severely damaged. Such apparently “hidden” damage can lead to severe permanent impairment or death.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention describes various apparatus and methods to prohibit user injury from sudden impact or rotational or whiplash movement. The invention may prohibit injury to the head and neck, and specifically, injury to the brain caused by sudden rotational acceleration or deceleration of the head.

In an embodiment of the invention, an apparatus includes a helmet, a body harness configured to secure to a user, a plurality of tethers and a plurality of spools. Each tether has one end attached to the helmet and an opposing end fixed relative to the body harness. Each of the plurality of tethers is in wound engagement with one of each of the plurality of spools. Each of the plurality of spools includes a locking mechanism moveable between an unlocked condition and a locked condition. Upon pre-determined movement of at least one of the plurality of tethers, the corresponding locking mechanism moves from the unlocked condition to the locked condition to prohibit additional unspooling or extension of the tether. In the locked condition, the locking mechanism may prohibit movement of the helmet relative to the body harness.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of an apparatus positioned on a user, showing a helmet, a body harness and a set of tethers;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front right perspective of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view of another embodiment of the apparatus, showing another body harness;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a spool, showing a tether in wound engagement with the spool;

FIG. 6 a is a cross-sectional view of the spool of FIG. 5, showing a locking mechanism in an unlocked condition;

FIG. 6 b is a cross-sectional view of the spool of FIG. 5, showing the locking mechanism in a locked condition;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a fastener;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another fastener;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the fastener of FIG. 8, showing a tether attached to the fastener;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an apparatus showing at least one sleeve in a compressed condition;

FIG. 11 is a top perspective view of sleeve stock material;

FIG. 12 is an assembly view of a two part grommet;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the grommet of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a front view of a sleeve in a non-compressed condition; and

FIG. 15 is a front view of the sleeve of FIG. 14 in a compressed condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This Detailed Description of the Invention merely describes embodiments of the invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims in any way. Indeed, the invention as claimed is broader than and unlimited by the preferred embodiments, and the terms used in the claims have their full ordinary meaning.

According to an inventive aspect of the present application, an apparatus is arranged for wearing by a user during recreational activity. The apparatus prohibits user injury from sudden impact or movement. The apparatus includes a helmet, a body harness configured to secure to a user, a plurality of tethers, and a plurality of spools. Each tether has one end attached to the helmet and an opposing end fixed relative to the body harness. The opposing end of the tether is fixed to a spool, which is itself fixed to the body harness. Either or both ends of the tether may be removably attached to facilitate quick removal and installation of all or part of the apparatus.

Each spool is positioned with a tether in wound engagement with the spool. Each spool includes a locking mechanism moveable between an unlocked condition and a locked condition. Upon pre-determined movement of at least one of the plurality of tethers, the corresponding locking mechanism moves from the unlocked condition to the locked condition to prohibit additional movement of the at least one of the plurality of tethers, i.e., to prohibit additional unspooling. The pre-determined movement is the unwinding of one of the tethers relative to an engaged spool at a specific characteristic, such as for example, at a certain acceleration or at a certain velocity. The pre-determined movement may be the acceleration of the user's head of 100 radians/sec².

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a front view of an exemplary apparatus 10 as it would be positioned on a user (not shown). The apparatus includes a helmet 12, a body harness 14 and a set of tethers 16 a, 16 b, 16 c, 16 d, 16 e. Each tether (not shown) is a belt like device which engages a spool at some point along its length. The tether may be constructed of any suitable material, such as for example, 1/2″ nylon with 1900 lbs tensile strength. As shown in FIG. 1, the tether is disposed within a sleeve for protection. The sleeve will be discussed in further detail.

A rear view and a front right perspective view of the apparatus are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively. As illustrated, FIG. 3 includes identification of the x axis to measure front to back movement of the head, the y axis to measure side to side movement of the head, and the z axis to measure rotational movement of the head.

The apparatus 10 includes an object worn on the head of the user. Such an object is used as a mounting point for one end of each of a plurality of tethers. In an exemplary apparatus, the object is a helmet and can be a conventional helmet used to prevent injury from impact, such as a snowmobile helmet. In FIGS. 1-3, a football helmet 12 is illustrated. The football helmet includes a standard facemask 18 and incorporates surface modifications, such as hardware or mounting holes (not shown), to allow the attachment of a tether or tether hardware to the helmet. The mounting holes may be a set of apertures for the placement of mounting hardware, such as hooks or fasteners. It should be apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art that a variety of helmet designs can be utilized in the practice of this invention.

As discussed, the inventive apparatus also includes a body harness secured to the user. The harness may be worn on the upper body of the user, such as for example, the chest or shoulders. The harness is used as a mounting point for the opposing end of each of a plurality of tethers relative to the helmet. In an exemplary apparatus, a set of football shoulder pads 14 is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. The shoulder pads 14 include typical sectional construction of plastic plates, each plate providing individual and cumulative protection to the user. To be discussed in further detail, the shoulder pads 14 are arranged to allow the tether to be fixed above, below, or within the shoulder pads.

In a front view of another embodiment of the apparatus 20, another body harness is shown in FIG. 4. The apparatus includes a helmet 12 and a neck collar or harness 22. The harness 22 can be easily installed between or underneath a conventional set of shoulder pads and can be secured to the upper body by buckles or a tie 24. It should be apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art that a variety of body harness styles, types and designs can be utilized in the practice of this invention.

As discussed, the helmet is attached to the body harness during use of the apparatus by a plurality of tethers. Each tether has one end attached to the helmet and an opposing end fixed relative to the body harness. The opposing end of the tether may be fixed directly to the body harness, or for example, to a spool which is fixed to the body harness. In the exemplary apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. 1-3, a set of five tethers 16 a, 16 b, 16 c, 16 d, 16 e is used to connect the helmet 12 to the shoulder pads 14. It should be apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art that any number of tethers, as well as a variety of tether designs, can be utilized in the practice of this invention.

The opposing ends of each tether may include a fastener for removably securing to the helmet or to the body harness. The fastener may be a hook for insertion through the aperture of a helmet, or attachment to mounting hardware fixed to the aperture of a helmet. Any suitable hardware may be used to removably secure the tether to the helmet, or the tether to the body harness.

In one embodiment, each tether includes the same fastener at each end, so that the tether can be mounted in either direction. Further, the length of each tether 16 a, 16 b, 16 c, 16 d, 16 e may vary as compared to the other tethers in the set. The length of each tether may be determined based on football helmet 12 design, shoulder pad 14 design, or size and shape of the user. It should be apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art that in the practice of this invention, the length of each tether may be the same, one of several predetermined lengths, or customized based on an individual user of an identified group of users.

The tethers are arranged to allow ease of movement of the head along one axis, or a combination of the x axis, y axis, and z axis, below a pre-determined movement threshold. The pre-determined movement threshold may be a certain acceleration or a certain velocity of a tether. Specifically, the inventive apparatus is arranged to limit acceleration of the head, such as for example, to limit rotational acceleration to under 100 radians/sec². It should be apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art that the apparatus may be arranged such that the threshold limit may vary in the practice of this invention.

The exemplary apparatus 10 functions to limit acceleration of the football helmet 12 by limiting movement of the tethers by the use of spools. A plurality of spools are arranged such that each tether is in wound engagement with one of each of the plurality of spools. An exemplary spool 30 is shown in FIG. 5, with a tether 32 wound around the center groove of a spool 30. An end 34 of the tether 32 is secured to the spool by any suitable means. The spool allows movement of the tether 32 in an unwinding direction A₁ and an opposite winding direction, but biased to rewind the tether in the opposite winding direction. To be discussed in further detail, acceleration at a pre-determined level of the tether 32 in the unwinding direction A₁ will activate a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism of each spool operates independently of the locking mechanism of one or more other spools. In other words, movement of the football helmet 12 of a user may initiate the locking of none, one, all, or a plurality of tethers.

The spools are located along the length of the tether and at a position between the helmet and the body harness. In one embodiment, the spools are fixed to either the top surface or the bottom surface of the shoulder pads. Alternatively, the spools may be disposed within the shoulder pads, with the pads having a structural accommodation, such as a slit, for the tether. A mounting hole 36 may be used to fix the spool 30 to a location, such as for example, on the shoulder pads 14 or collar 22.

As discussed, each of the plurality of spools includes a locking mechanism moveable between an unlocked condition and a locked condition. In the unlocked condition, the tether is free to move against the force of the biased spool. The locking mechanism will stay in an unlocked condition when the tethers unwinds and rewinds relative to the engaged spool below a certain acceleration. As discussed, upon pre-determined movement of a tether, the corresponding locking mechanism with the corresponding spool will move from the unlocked condition to the locked condition. In the locked condition, the tether is prohibited from additional movement in either direction. As such, the locking mechanism in the locked condition prohibits movement of the helmet relative to the body harness. In one embodiment, the locking mechanism is resettable from the locked condition to the unlocked condition by user manipulation, such as for example, by pressing a release button (not shown) on the spool.

The apparatus includes a spool and locking mechanism to prohibit tether movement. It should be understood by other with ordinary skill in the art that various conventional spool and locking mechanism designs can be used in the practice of this invention. An exemplary spool 30 and locking mechanism 40 will now be discussed.

Cross-sectional views of the spool of FIG. 5 are shown in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b. An unlocked condition is shown in FIG. 6 a and a locked condition is shown in FIG. 6 b. As shown in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b, two identical locking mechanisms 40 are disposed in the spool. It should be apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art that the number of and location of the locking mechanisms may vary in the practice of this invention.

The locking mechanism 40 includes a mass 42, lever 44, arm 46 and center stationary shaft 48. When a user is impacted and the football helmet 12 pulls on a tether 32, the entire spool assembly 30 will spin except for the stationary shaft 48, which is held in place relative to the shoulder pads 14. During safe levels of movement, the tether 32 will unwind and rewind to accommodate movement of the user's head. At unsafe levels of movement, e.g., high velocity or rapid acceleration, the mass 42 will move, or roll, radially outward by centrifugal force, to compress a main spring 50. At a certain radial distance, the mass 42 will lift the lever 44, which is normally biased inward by a second spring 52. The second spring 52 is less stiff than the main spring 50, so the mass 42 is able to lift the lever 44, thereby pivoting the lever 44 about a point 54 to subsequently push the arm 46 radially inward. Teeth on the inward end of the arm 46 mesh with the teeth on the stationary shaft 48 As the arm 46 is moving down, or inward, it also ratchets with the internal walls of the spool, thus preventing the arm from being moved back up as it contacts the teeth of stationary shaft 48. When the unsafe movement ends, such as for example, the acceleration of the user's head stops, the arm 46 will return to an unlocked condition. It should be apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art that other locking mechanisms to prohibit tether movement may be utilized in the practice of this invention, such as for example, a centrifugal clutch of a conventional seat belt locking mechanism.

As discussed, the apparatus has a fastener for fixing the tether to the helmet or the body harness. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an exemplary fastener 60. The fastener includes a base plate 61 which defines two slots 62, 64. Screws or other hardware can be inserted through the slot and corresponding mounting locations of the helmet to mount the fastener to the helmet surface. The base may be mounted to the inside surface or outside surface of the helmet. A protruding arm 66 extends to a head 68 for mounting a tether. Another fastener 70 is shown in FIG. 8. Similarly, two apertures 72, 74 are formed in a base plate 71. A tether 80 is shown in FIG. 9 in an attached position to the head 78 of the fastener 70.

The fastener can be part of a quick release mechanism located on the tether at a location between the helmet and body harness to facilitate rapid removal and subsequent reattachment of the helmet. It should be apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art that alternative designs of fasteners, both the fastener which attaches to the helmet and the fastener which attaches to the end of the tether, can be utilized in the practice of this invention.

As discussed, an exemplary tether is disposed for longitudinal movement within a sleeve to minimize restriction of tether movement, and damage or wear of the tether from rubbing. The sleeve is non-load bearing. In the exemplary apparatus 90 of FIG. 10, a protective sleeve surrounds each tether along at least a portion of the length of the tether and does not wind around the spool. As shown, at least one sleeve 92 is in an extended condition and at least one sleeve 94 is in a compressed condition.

Sleeves are constructed to extend and compress to accommodate low acceleration movement of the helmet 12. Because tethers are mounted in various areas around the circumference of the helmet, some sleeves may compress and some sleeves may extend during helmet movement. A top perspective view of exemplary sleeve stock 100 is shown in FIG. 11. To construct a sleeve of a desired relaxed length, stock sleeve is cut to length. A grommet 104 having two parts 102 a, 102 b, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, is installed in a position surrounding each end of the cut sleeve stock 100, as shown in FIG. 14, to form in a sleeve 106. FIG. 15 is a front view of the sleeve 106 in a compressed condition after the sleeve has been compressed in a direction A₂.

While various inventive aspects, concepts and features of the inventions may be described and illustrated herein as embodied in combination in the exemplary embodiments, these various aspects, concepts and features may be used in many alternative embodiments, either individually or in various combinations and sub-combinations thereof. Unless expressly excluded herein all such combinations and sub-combinations are intended to be within the scope of the present inventions. Still further, while various alternative embodiments as to the various aspects, concepts and features of the inventions--such as alternative materials, structures, configurations, methods, circuits, spooling and unspooling mechanisms, locking and unlocking mechanisms, mechanical devices and components, software, hardware, control logic, alternatives as to form, fit and function, and so on--may be described herein, such descriptions are not intended to be a complete or exhaustive list of available alternative embodiments, whether presently known or later developed. Those skilled in the art may readily adopt one or more of the inventive aspects, concepts or features into additional embodiments and uses within the scope of the present inventions even if such embodiments are not expressly disclosed herein. Additionally, even though some features, concepts or aspects of the inventions may be described herein as being a preferred arrangement or method, such description is not intended to suggest that such feature is required or necessary unless expressly so stated. Still further, exemplary or representative values and ranges may be included to assist in understanding the present disclosure; however, such values and ranges are not to be construed in a limiting sense and are intended to be critical values or ranges only if so expressly stated. Moreover, while various aspects, features and concepts may be expressly identified herein as being inventive or forming part of an invention, such identification is not intended to be exclusive, but rather there may be inventive aspects, concepts and features that are fully described herein without being expressly identified as such or as part of a specific invention. Descriptions of exemplary methods or processes are not limited to inclusion of all steps as being required in all cases, nor is the order that the steps are presented to be construed as required or necessary unless expressly so stated. 

1. An apparatus to prohibit user injury from sudden impact or movement, the apparatus comprising: a helmet; a body harness configured to secure to a user; a plurality of tethers, each tether having one end attached to the helmet and an opposing end fixed relative to the body harness; and a plurality of spools positioned with each of the plurality of tethers in wound engagement with one of each of the plurality of spools, each of the plurality of spools comprising a locking mechanism moveable between an unlocked condition and a locked condition; wherein upon pre-determined movement of at least one of the plurality of tethers, the corresponding locking mechanism moves from the unlocked condition to the locked condition to prohibit additional movement of the at least one of the plurality of tethers.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pre-determined movement is the unwinding of the at least one of the plurality of tethers relative an engaged spool at a certain acceleration.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pre-determined movement is the unwinding of the at least one of the plurality of tethers relative an engaged spool at a certain velocity.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism of the engaged spool stays in the unlocked condition when the at least one of the plurality of tethers unwinds relative to the engaged spool below a certain acceleration.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism of the engaged spool stays in the unlocked condition when the at least one of the plurality of tethers unwinds relative to the engaged spool below a certain velocity.
 6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the certain acceleration of at least one of the plurality of tethers results in acceleration of a user's head of 100 radians/sec².
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one protective sleeve, wherein the at least one protective sleeve surrounds at least one of the plurality of tethers along at least a portion of the length of the tether.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of spools are disposed adjacent to the body harness.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the helmet defines a plurality of apertures.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of fasteners, each fastener attached to an end of one of a plurality of tethers.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein each fastener is detachably inserted through one of the plurality of apertures.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the body harness is an upper body harness.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the helmet is a football helmet and the body harness is a set of shoulder pads.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a locking mechanism in the locked condition prohibits movement of the helmet relative to the body harness.
 15. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the locking mechanism resets from the locked condition to the unlocked condition when the unwinding of the at least one of the plurality of tethers relative an engaged spool falls below the certain acceleration.
 16. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the locking mechanism resets from the locked condition to the unlocked condition when the unwinding of the at least one of the plurality of tethers relative an engaged spool falls below the certain velocity.
 17. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the locking mechanism resets from the locked condition to the unlocked condition when the unwinding of the at least one of the plurality of tethers relative an engaged spool stops.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism is resettable from the locked condition to the unlocked condition by user manipulation.
 19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each tether is removably attached to the helmet.
 20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each tether is removably attached to the body harness. 